Public meeting set to discuss proposed reduction of MAPS transportation services for Duquesne and Carterville

(From the City of Joplin)

The City of Joplin will host two public meetings on Tuesday, April 17 for citizens to provide comments about the reduction of MAPS services to the City of Carterville and City of Duquesne. MAPS is an acronym for Metro Area Public-transit Service and provides scheduled transportation to citizens in neighboring communities.

Comments can be made during an afternoon meeting from 1:30 to 3 p.m. or during an evening meeting from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Both meetings will be held in the Council Chambers located on the fifth floor of City Hall, 602 S. Main in Joplin. The public is encouraged to give comments or voice opposition to the proposed MAPS service reduction at either of these meetings.

The City has been working with these cities regarding their continuation of MAPS service to their residents. Each was offered two different service level options for the continuation of MAPS service.

Option #1 would have continued the current level of service at a rate of $3 per ride local match.

Option #2 would have provided MAPS rides three times per day, Monday through Friday, at a rate of $1 per ride local match.

In 2013, the City of Joplin contacted all cities using MAPS to discuss a contractual agreement about the per trip local match rate. Joplin officials reached arrangements with other cities using this service except for Carterville and Duquesne. After attempted negotiations throughout the past five years, an agreement could not be signed. Therefore, the City of Joplin has contacted riders in Carterville and Duquesne that the service will be discontinued effective April 30, 2018.

Joplin MAPS provided this service to area communities for a $1 per trip local match since the service’s inception to these areas in 1998. The local match was increased by 50-cents per trip in 2013, and each following year until it reached $3 per trip, where the cost per trip remains.

Public transportation initially started in 1998 by the City as five vans transported residents to and from their necessary destinations through MAPS. In 2007, the City introduced the Sunshine Lamp Trolley with a one-hour loop in the northeastern part of Joplin. In 2009, the City added two more routes which overlapped the existing route. Riders can now reach nearly all areas of the City through public transportation.

On average, 11,500 rides are given each month through the Trolleys and MAPS vans. For more information about MAPS or to receive a Trolley Route map, please call 417-626-8609.